SPRING 2018

36 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

36 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK SPECIALTY TOOLS & FASTENERS DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION PO Box 44, 500 Elm Grove Rd., Ste. 2I0, Elm Grove, Wl 53122 TEL 1-800-352-2981 FAX 262-784-5059 EMAIL info@stafda.org WEB www.stafda.org STAFDA’S FOCUS ON INDUSTRY EDUCATION by Georgia H. Foley, CEO The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) is a 42 year old educational association serving wholesale distributors, manufacturers, and rep agents in the construction/industrial channel. Over the decades, STAFDA has offered a variety of educational programs and services to assist members be leaders in their markets. Here is a sampling of what STAFDA is working on. STAFDA is putting the finishing touches on an upcoming training manual, Concierge Customer Service. Written by Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert, an expert in big data and predictive analysis, the STAFDA-specific book provides the metrics to accurately measure customer service. Many companies collect feedback from their customers then have no idea what to do with it. Dr. Hurlbert began her research by surveying STAFDA members to gather their current level of customer service data, which included employee sentiment. Do customers and employees share the same vision when it comes to customer service? Does an employee feel they’re offering exemplary service whereas the customer thinks it’s only mediocre? The book addresses this in addition to how the different generations (Baby Boomers, Gen X’rs, Millennials) view customer service, what their expectations are, and how to provide the ultimate in Concierge Customer Service to each. As always, each member receives one complimentary copy of Concierge Customer Service with more available at discounted pricing. This latest book joins STAFDA’s series of educational training manuals including Sales SHOW EVENT ARTICLE Pro, Inside Sales & Service Pro, Effective Inventory Management, Business Security, Showroom & Visual Design, and others. STAFDA also provides a series of benchmarking studies. In even numbered years, the Association offers a Compensation & Benefits Study. STAFDA is joining 17 other distributorbased organizations this spring on a cross-industry compensation and benefits study. It will delve into over 30 job descriptions, tenure, and fringe benefits. Administered by Industry Insights, Dublin, OH, participating members will receive three reports in one: the overall cross industry report comparing all distributorbased organizations; a STAFDA-specific compensation and benefit report; and lastly, a company-specific report where Industry Insights will offer guidance on what the member can do to improve. CONTINUED ON PAGE 124